BOOKS
LEARN BETTER BY ULRICH BOSER
Mastering the Skills for Success in Life, Business, and School, or, How to Become an Expert in Just About Anything
For centuries, experts have argued that learning was about memorizing information: you’re supposed to study facts, dates, and details, burn them into your memory, and then apply that knowledge at opportune times. But this approach to learning isn’t nearly enough for the world that we live in today. In Learn Better, I demonstrate that how we learn can matter just as much as what we learn.
In the book, I map out the new science of learning, showing how simple techniques like self-questioning can help people gain expertise in dramatically better ways.
This powerful book will revolutionize the way students–and society–approach learning. It aims to spark dramatic changes in our nation’s school system. You can buy the book now at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Indiebound, and Booksamillion.
“Best Science Book Of The Year,” Amazon Editors Picks.
“Alternately humorous, surprising, and profound,” Walter Isaacson
“Great book for: building up expertise in your field,” Business Insider.
“Witty, engaging,” Spy.
“Digs into the neuroscience of learning,” The Atlantic.
“We can all be natural learners if, like Boser, we make the time for it, design the right processes, and figure out how to track our progress,” Quartz.
Take the “Learn Better” quiz on NPR.
Read excerpts in Slate, Vox, Wired, Scientific American, and US News & World Report.
Praise
“Learning makes us human, yet few of us truly understand how the brain, the heart, and the body work together to create new knowledge. Learn Better pulls back the curtain on the hidden ways we are wired for learning, in ways that are alternately humorous, surprising, and profound.”
–Walter Isaacson, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute and author most recently of The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution
“This book is a great read. I enjoyed every moment of it. I enjoyed the opportunity to reflect on my own experiences in the classroom and my own experiences as a student.”
–John King, former Secretary of Education
“Learn Better offers real insights on learning, the role of educators, and how the two can come together in deep and meaningful ways for students and all life-long learners. Boser makes the science of learning accessible and interesting for educators, parents, and policymakers.”
–Randi Weingarten, President American Federation of Teachers
“Brimming with helpful insights and interesting stories, this surprising and engaging new book provides an important, much-needed introduction to the science of learning. It belongs on the bookshelf of every learner.”
–Linda Darling-Hammond, President of the Learning Policy Institute and Charles E. Ducommon Professor of Education Emeritus at Stanford University.
Reviews
“Boser’s thought-provoking work unpacks the complex subject of how we learn… littered with personal anecdotes about his own struggles and successes with learning, crammed with descriptions of exciting research in the area…. This work infuses a sense of fresh excitement and accessibility into a topic sometimes considered stodgy.”
–Publisher’s Weekly
“Witty, engaging writing… It’ll challenge you to re-think the way you see facts and process information. Pick up this new book and see why your brain is even smarter – and better – than you think,”
–Tim Chan, Spy
“Boser’s smart and approachable writing style engaged me at once as he laid out six methods for becoming an expert at whatever you like, whether it’s basketball, parenting, or quantum physics,”
–Adrian Liang, Amazon’s Top Picks for the Best Books of the Month
The book “lays out the science in very accessible and readable ways… Boser explodes a lot of myths about learning.”
–Bob Rothman, Education Week
“Wide-ranging in its scope and approach… very useful insights into how learning operates throughout our lives, not just in the classroom.”
–Natalie Houston, Chronicle of Higher Education